Pope Francis advanced Tuesday the sainthood causes of several men and women, including two Italian priests of the 20th century — one who was ordained at age 23 and another who was ordained at 65, after a lay career and a lifetime of serving the poor. Venerable Fr. Mario Ciceri knew his vocation from a…
There is a lot of confusion about the nature and scope of the charism of the Pope’s infallibility. Many Catholics with average religious instruction think the Sovereign Pontiff is infallible in everything he says or does. However, this is not what Catholic doctrine affirms. Two Different Concepts That Are Often Confused Thus, most Catholics confuse…
A bishop condescendingly asked John Henry Newman, “Who are the laity?” To which the great saint, and, one hopes, future Doctor of the Church, replied that the Church would look foolish without them. The same might be said of those who are consecrated in the Religious life. The difference is that most of the Church…
September 2, 2009 Short Address by Pope Benedict XVI Recently, Pope Benedict XVI gave a particularly poignant address regarding our obligations as Christian laity to the crowd who had joined to praythe midday Angelus at the papal summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, Italy. Here is a translation from ZENIT: “Intimately Connected and Mutually Illuminate Each Other” [At the end…
